Recently, one of our clients asked us for some help in thinking about their currency risks, ahead of Brexit. Although they had most of their assets invested in UK markets, they wanted to reduce their currency risk and they therefore expected our advice to focus on their overseas investments. But sometimes risk can appear in unexpected places and the best solution can be the opposite of what you expect. In this case we had to go beyond the expected to get the best result.

Looking ahead to the 31 March 2019 year-end, most companies reporting are currently looking at a broadly unchanged IAS19 funding position. The average funding level in our most recent survey was 96%, and this is likely to stay around this level.

The DWP issued a response to its consultation on trustees’ investment duties in 2018. The focus was on the expectations upon trustees to take account of financially material risks within their investment strategies.

Barnett Waddingham has responded to the DWP consultation to say we support the DWP in setting out the government’s proposals for Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) schemes. Danny Wilding, Partner, sets out his views on the consultation.

A few weeks post-Lloyds and we’re taking the finer points of the ruling as read - lots to do, or not do, legal advice to take, or not take, transfer values to suspend, or not suspend – a catalogue of unknowns that are raising trustee frustration levels up and down the country. Julie Walker, Associate, considers the problems trustees face after the Lloyds ruling.

Conflicts of interest have long been part of the trustee/employer environment. However, the scope and meaning of what type of conflicts could arise has developed and broadened as governance best practice evolved.

ESG, SRI, ethical investing are often used interchangeably; but actually they are different and these differences affect how client portfolios should be designed and which investments are appropriate for meeting a client’s objectives.